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ArduPilot
ArduPilot is an autopilot software program that can control multirotor drones, fixed-wing and VTOL aircraft, RC helicopters, ROVs, ground rovers, boats, submarines, uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), AntennaTrackers and blimps. It is published as open source software under the GNU GPL version 3.
ArduPilot was originally developed by hobbyists to control model aircraft and rovers and has evolved into a full-featured and reliable autopilot used by industry, research organisations, amateurs, and militaries. In June 2025 ArduPilot was used successfully by the Ukrainian armed forces during the Russo-Ukrainian War to make aerial drone attacks on Russian air bases.
The ArduPilot software suite consists of navigation software (typically referred to as firmware when it is compiled to binary form for microcontroller hardware targets) running on the vehicle (Copter, Plane, Rover, AntennaTracker, or Sub), along with ground station controlling software including Mission Planner, APM Planner, QGroundControl, MavProxy, Tower and others.
ArduPilot provides a large set of features, including the following common for all vehicles:
ArduPilot is fully documented within its wiki, totaling the equivalent of about 700 printed pages and divided in six top sections: The Copter, Plane, Rover, and Submarine vehicle related subsections are aimed at users. A "developer" subsection for advanced uses is aimed primarily at software and hardware engineers, and a "common" section regrouping information common to all vehicle types is shared within the first four sections.
Copter, Plane, Rover, AntennaTracker, or Sub software runs on a wide variety of embedded hardware (including full blown Linux computers), typically consisting of one or more microcontroller or microprocessor connected to peripheral sensors used for navigation. These sensors include MEMS gyroscopes and accelerometers at a minimum, necessary for multirotor flight and plane stabilization. Sensors usually include, in addition, one or more compass, altimeter (barometric) and GPS, along with optional additional sensors such as optical flow sensors, airspeed indicators, laser or sonar altimeters or rangefinders, monocular, stereoscopic or RGB-D cameras. Sensors may be on the same electronic board, or external.
Ground Station software, used for programming or monitoring vehicle operation, is available for Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android.
ArduPilot runs on a wide variety of hardware platforms, including the following, listed in alphabetical order:
Hub AI
ArduPilot AI simulator
(@ArduPilot_simulator)
ArduPilot
ArduPilot is an autopilot software program that can control multirotor drones, fixed-wing and VTOL aircraft, RC helicopters, ROVs, ground rovers, boats, submarines, uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), AntennaTrackers and blimps. It is published as open source software under the GNU GPL version 3.
ArduPilot was originally developed by hobbyists to control model aircraft and rovers and has evolved into a full-featured and reliable autopilot used by industry, research organisations, amateurs, and militaries. In June 2025 ArduPilot was used successfully by the Ukrainian armed forces during the Russo-Ukrainian War to make aerial drone attacks on Russian air bases.
The ArduPilot software suite consists of navigation software (typically referred to as firmware when it is compiled to binary form for microcontroller hardware targets) running on the vehicle (Copter, Plane, Rover, AntennaTracker, or Sub), along with ground station controlling software including Mission Planner, APM Planner, QGroundControl, MavProxy, Tower and others.
ArduPilot provides a large set of features, including the following common for all vehicles:
ArduPilot is fully documented within its wiki, totaling the equivalent of about 700 printed pages and divided in six top sections: The Copter, Plane, Rover, and Submarine vehicle related subsections are aimed at users. A "developer" subsection for advanced uses is aimed primarily at software and hardware engineers, and a "common" section regrouping information common to all vehicle types is shared within the first four sections.
Copter, Plane, Rover, AntennaTracker, or Sub software runs on a wide variety of embedded hardware (including full blown Linux computers), typically consisting of one or more microcontroller or microprocessor connected to peripheral sensors used for navigation. These sensors include MEMS gyroscopes and accelerometers at a minimum, necessary for multirotor flight and plane stabilization. Sensors usually include, in addition, one or more compass, altimeter (barometric) and GPS, along with optional additional sensors such as optical flow sensors, airspeed indicators, laser or sonar altimeters or rangefinders, monocular, stereoscopic or RGB-D cameras. Sensors may be on the same electronic board, or external.
Ground Station software, used for programming or monitoring vehicle operation, is available for Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android.
ArduPilot runs on a wide variety of hardware platforms, including the following, listed in alphabetical order: